The present invention is directed to a liquid-tight reciprocating floor construction or system, and more particularly a liquid-tight sub-deck of a reciprocating slat conveyor that may be positioned in a load-holding compartment.
Reciprocating slat-type conveyors (also referred to as “RSC,” “reciprocating floors,” “conveyor systems,” “live floor conveyors,” “reciprocating slat conveyors,” or “conveyors”) generally include a plurality of elongated slats (also referred to as “conveyor slats,” “floor slats,” or “deck slats”). The conveyors are generally used in the load-holding compartment of load transport vehicles (e.g. a mobile cargo trailer, bed of a truck (truck bed), rear portion of a semi-trailer, or container portion of a van-truck). Some conveyors are used in the non-mobile load-holding compartments (e.g. storage containers). The load-holding compartment has a front end toward the front of the compartment (e.g. in a truck, the front end would be the end toward the driver compartment) and a back or rear end (e.g. in a truck, the back end would be the end into which the load would be inserted and from which the load would be removed). The slats are arranged side-by-side to form the floor of the load-holding compartment so that they extend longitudinally to the framework of the load-holding compartment and parallel to the two longitudinal side walls of load-holding compartments.
Liquid-tight reciprocating slat conveyors, that can be defined as leak-proof, waterproof, and/or liquid-impervious reciprocating slat conveyors are not new.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,708 to Foster and entitled “Reciprocating Channel Floor Conveyor” (the Foster '708 reference), U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,360 to Foster and entitled “Reciprocating Floor Conveyor with Liquid Collecting Channels Between the Floor Members” (the Foster '360 reference), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,067 to Foster and entitled “Reciprocating Floor Conveyor with Liquid Collecting Base Structure” (the Foster '067 reference), all describe a reciprocating slat conveyor with moving slats separated by a large gap (space) supported by full-length guide beams with bottom members that are integral parts of extruded metal shapes joined together in an interlocking manner to form a liquid-tight sub-floor. The interlock is located near the top, slat-supporting surface of a guide beam and is described as a tongue-and-groove connection. Examples of this can be seen in FIG. 10 of the Foster '708 reference, FIG. 2 of the Foster '360 reference, and FIG. 1 of the Foster '067 reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,595 to Hallstrom and entitled “Waterproof Reciprocating Conveyor” (the Hallstrom '595 reference) and U.S. Pat. No. RE 35,156 to Hallstrom and entitled “Waterproof Reciprocating Conveyor” (the Hallstrom '156 reference) describe a reciprocating slat conveyor with a slat assembly in which a plurality of elongated, imperforate slat mounting bases are arranged side-by-side on a supporting framework with adjacent longitudinal edges of adjacent bases interconnected by a liquid-tight seal, thereby forming a liquid-tight base under a plurality of elongated, longitudinally reciprocative slats mounted thereon. The liquid-tight seal means is shown located near the bottom surface of the sub-floor underneath a slat in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the Hallstrom '595 reference and FIG. 5 of the Hallstrom '156 reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,165,525 to Quaeck and entitled “Liquid-Tight Reciprocating Floor Construction” (the Quaeck '525 reference), U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,556 to Quaeck and entitled “Liquid-Tight Reciprocating Floor Construction” (the Quaeck '556 reference), U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,894 to Quaeck and entitled “Reciprocating Floor Construction” (the Quaeck '894 reference), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,346,056 to Quaeck and entitled “Reciprocating Floor Construction” (the Quaeck '056 reference) describe reciprocating slat conveyors that include a plurality of slats slidable on a plurality of stationary liquid-tight bases, with each base supporting an individual slat. The unitary construction of the bases prevents liquid that leaks through the points of contact of each slat and each base from reaching the floor supporting the bases. The bases are interconnected, preferably by either mating flanges or a tongue-and-groove configuration on each base. Seals adjacent the mating flanges or the tongue-and-groove configuration prevent liquid from leaking through these points of attachment to the supporting floor. This seal and joint portion is located between two slats instead of underneath a slat as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 of the Quaeck '525 reference, the Quaeck '556 reference, and the Quaeck '894 reference as well as in FIG. 3 of the Quaeck '056 reference.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,648 to Hallstrom and entitled “Reciprocating Conveyor with Top Front Drive” (the Hallstrom '648 reference) describes a reciprocating slat conveyor in which the elongated slats are supported at their lateral edges on V-shaped bearings that are mounted on Y-shaped supports integral with sub-deck sections on the container bottom and joined together with watertight seals. The joint is located near the bottom of the sub-deck sections underneath a slat, as shown in FIG. 5 of the Hallstrom '648 reference.
The Cargo Floor® leakproof floor described by Cargo Floor B.V. Coevorden of Holland in the Assembly Instructions found at www.cargofloor.nl (at least as early as 2006) includes sub-deck pieces that are assembled and joined at a joint between longitudinal side edges of adjacent longitudinal sub-deck sections. Each sub-deck section is shown as having a single valley between two raised edges. The edges are joined together so that the joints are at the top of a slat-support guide beam formed by the two edges of the adjacent longitudinal sub-deck sections. A bearing and slat cover the joint at the top of a slat-support guide beam.